The Exile of Pailong
by Dangeresque
Summary: A young man seeks the counsel of General Iroh and shares the tale of his last few years. Rated M for language/violence. OCs aplenty, but minor cast interaction/zero plot disruption. Reviews are always appreciated!
1. Prologue

Iroh drummed his fingers along the edge of his teacup as he sat in the place of his employment. The small teahouse smelled like soaked wood when he had first arrived, and the floors creaked as you walked in and out. The floors still creak, and it still smells like soaked wood, though those are now masked by a stronger smell of jasmine leaves. His drumming was mindless, to be sure, but it wasn't a distraction from boredom or an anxious habit. Iroh's drumming was contented, a pleasurable sort of experience that came with a full stomach and a roof over one's head after many weeks without either. But a thought occurred, or rather recurred to him, one that snuck into his mind too often:

_You know, if you had been successful in your siege, if you had conquered Ba Sing Se? You would have burnt this place to the ground without a single pang of regret_.

The old firebender's fingers stopped drumming. He relinquished the thought and turned his mind to Zuko's date. _Or Junior's, rather_. Iroh couldn't help but chuckle. He did like giving his nephew a hard time every once in a while, perhaps in an attempt to lighten his moods. _A boy his age should not be so restricted and mature… though perhaps this is the wrong word. Jaded would be more suitable. Though I wouldn't expect less from my brother._

He stood to make another pot of jasmine. _At least he can relax a little, now that the Avatar is off his mind. And that nice girl should help too… even if he did think she was a spy._

Iroh heard the doorbell tinkle, and turned to see a man—or a boy rather—walking in the front door, with a perfectly timed creak from the floorboards. _He doesn't look any older than Zuko— younger even._ The boy had the look of a refugee, his clothes disheveled and torn; his hair unkempt, and his eyes were turned downward, almost weighed to the floor by wrinkles of sleepless nights. Iroh—or Mushi, as he repeated to himself over and over in his mind- walked over to the weary child.

_Your name is Mushi, not Iroh, Mushi, Mushi, Mushi, Mushi_.

"Mushi!" Iroh pronounced with exuberance.

_Wait, that's not right._

The boy raised his eyes, almost too tired to present his confusion on his face.

"I mean… Would you care for some tea?" Iroh hoped the boy-refugee would ignore the previous slip-up.

"I… yes. That sounds fine."

"Fantastic. What kind? Green, Jasmine, Oolong, maybe a nice Ginseng?"

"Uh…" The boy looked down again, slowly scratching his hairline. "Jasmine, please."

"Excellent choice! I just made a pot. Take a seat wherever you like!"

The boy walked stiffly to a table and dropped his weight on the stool all at once. His body sagged a moment before he propped himself up on his elbows. Iroh poured the refugee a cup first, and then another for himself. The boy looked quickly back and forth between his tea and "Mushi," sipping the tea slowly.

Iroh ventured, "So what brings you to Ba Sing Se?"

The boy focused his gaze on Iroh, then returned to his tea. "I'm looking for someone. Another refugee."

"I see. Many have been driven here by the war. May I ask who you're looking for?"

"He was a friend of my father's. Or… I think. They only had tea together, once."

Iroh furrowed his brow in a brief thought. _This boy looks rather familiar… _

It came back to Iroh all at once. He was the spitting image of a man he had met in Ba Sing Se- but at that time, he was laying siege to it. Lieutenant Rao Tsu, a man who had approached the general in his tent, wishing to join Iroh in private for tea and advice. The boy certainly shared a few features with his father, but more than anything they shared that distant look in his eye… like a hundred things distracted him all at once.

But Iroh was no fool, and he knew that revealing his identity to the young man at this point would be unwise. _This boy could be looking to kill me for all I know._

"And this friend of your father's, is he here? In the lower ring? Ba Sing Se is… well you know just how large it is, but it is just as easy to be found as to be lost. There are people who can help you… if you know who you're looking for. And why."

"I know who but… my father spoke very highly of this man. He said this man helped him choose what to do with his life, helped him with his priorities… and I think I need that."

_He's not here to kill me. He's genuine, I can tell._

"You're Rao Tsu's boy, aren't you."

The boy held a stunned look on his face for about three seconds, before relaxing and bowing. "It's an honor to finally meet you, General Iroh."

"Please, just Iroh. I'm no one's general anymore, least of all yours."

The boy closed his eyes, exhaled, and began. "My name is Gao Li and me, my sister and my friend are all fugitives from the Fire Nation. We've been travelling for a very, very long time, and I heard you were here in the Earth Kingdom. I've come here because…" He stopped. He sighed again, and continued, "I don't know why I'm here. I have no where else to turn and… and if you could help my father, you can help me."

Iroh ran a hand through his beard before asking, "I find that starting from the beginning of your troubles illuminates your problem and your purpose with greater clarity. Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Gao Li sipped his tea. "Have you ever heard of Pailong?"


	2. Chapter 1

At the beginning of the Fire Nation's campaign against the Earth Kingdom, Pailong was one of the first cities to fall, though its name was something else, now long forgotten. Situated in a natural basin bisected by a river, the city was seen as a soft target by Fire Nation generals. The city's earthbenders, however, made up for any geographical deficiency: huge defensive structures could be erected in seconds, and if the walls were high enough, the angle and velocity needed to send a flaming rock over the walls would overshoot the city entirely.

Faced with the town's heavy resistance, many generals backed down from attacking the city. But one particularly canny and ruthless leader, Pailong, found a more direct method than the usual Fire Nation siege tactics. While the city had enough food to last quite a long while (thanks to a series of tunnels created by earthbenders that lead to other nearby cities), the river was their only source of water, other than by underground caravan (which couldn't possibly transport enough for all the citizens and the soldiers stationed there). A dam could be torn down with ease by a few earthbenders, so Pailong found another solution: he threw any unclaimed enemy bodies and dead animals into the river.

The river's contamination couldn't be detected until the corpses reached downstream, and even then the purification process would take too long to produce enough volume of water. Those that weren't infected were dehydrated and starved, until the river had to be guarded from further contamination. Spread so thin, the city couldn't keep up its defense tactics, and soon enough agreed to surrender.

The Fire Nation army soon entrenched itself in the city, the newly-named Pailong was commonly known as the "first stepping stone to Ba Sing Se." Soon the city became a popular resting point for troop movements, and Fire Nation traders found a wealth of opportunity in the place. Eventually, the city's government diverged somewhat from the usual provincial government installed by the Fire Nation, with a council of wealthy mercantile families heading the Paillong council.

Each family had to have one representative of the family's interests within Pailong, shaping legislation and policy that wasn't covered by mandates from the homeland. The council members chosen were first selected from the family's male firebenders, then the female firebenders, then from the non-benders. There must always be a council member for each family, and there are no exceptions.

So when Rao Tsu died in his sleep at the age of forty-three, another council member had to be chosen. It fell upon the shoulders of his youngest son, Gao Li. He was the only male bender in the family. He was thirteen years old when he was selected. His first council meeting was the day after his father's death.

There must always be a council member for each family. There are no exceptions.


	3. Chapter 2

Gao Li always tried to savor the riverside walk back to his family's home. He'd walk along it after every council meeting, for the past three years, watching the steady flow of water pass lazily by. He'd look for turtle-ducks brought from the homeland making an orderly procession, or children sailing paper boats, or maybe even a young couple enjoying a nice day on the river.

It didn't work. It never worked. Usually the daily meetings would just go over the previous day's minutes, or how the town was going to celebrate a holiday, or news of the warfront. It wasn't the meetings that bothered him. It was the man that sat across from him, Councilman Jheng. He held a strong, if ethically questionable military career, and was a senior member of the council. He was a die-hard nationalist, not that many people on that council weren't, but he was a man to whom there was no separating brutality and pragmatism.

_No wonder he and my father were enemies._

Gao Li opened the ornate twin doors leading into the family villa. He walked through the small sitting room to the large courtyard in the center of the house, where he knew his older sister would be.

Taia preferred not to dress to her rank, especially in private. She kept her hair in a ponytail, and wore a sleeveless cotton tunic and pants without shoes when she was training. Her brother kept his distance as she ended her firebending form with an explosive blast of fire and a centering breath.

"Still failing in your attempts to burn our house down, I see."

Taia turned her head and smirked. "Gives me something to work up to. How'd the meeting go, little brother?"

"Well do you want the long of it where I tell you how Jheng's vagrancy laws and new building codes will displace a third of the city to make room for foreign merchant interests once codified, or should I skip to the part where I wish that you had been born male?" He made his way over to a chair placed against one of the walls, threw off his formal robes and slumped down, his tunic wet around the collar with his perspiration.

His sister sat next to him and placed a comforting hand on his head. "Bad meeting, huh?"

"I've never been to a good one." He kicked off his shoes and sunk further into the chair. "At this point I'd like to get it off my mind."

"Well good, because I'm going to be training your ass off today. Lose the hairpin and get ready, today's conditioning only."

* * *

Gao Li winced as he walked, his muscles aching from the workout Taia put him through. It kept him in shape, and it kept his mind off of council affairs, but conditioning was his least favorite part of Firebending training. Taia's words echoed in his mind _"Fitness is a part of bending; if you don't stay in shape you'll be a lousy bender. Now stop whining and give me fifty more hot-squats."_

Gao Li had already abandoned his clothing of rank, wearing plainer clothes as he entered the Poor District. He didn't like calling it that: not everyone there was poor, necessarily, and he liked the people in the Poor District far more than those in the Merchant and Council districts. But that was the name it had earned, and that's what he called it. There wasn't much crime in the Poor District, but Gao Li didn't want to seem pretentious or classist. He never liked his fine robes in the first place.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he came to his destination. _The Oolong House_ didn't just serve oolong tea, or just tea for that matter: it was a sake house and a favored place of relaxation throughout the city (save most of the Council District, of course). Gao Li was just happy to rest his legs and see a good friend.

As he entered he was (thankfully) unnoticed by the many patrons, enjoying fine rice wine and company. He couldn't hear much over the dull roar, but he soon saw a familiar face in an apron, bringing drinks to a table of off-duty guards. She looked up at Gao Li and smiled, throwing a few words back to an older woman that seemed to be tending to the customers' payments.

The girl walked up to Gao Li and drew him into a close hug.

"Gao Li it's been ages, how are you? How are your brother and sister? Wait wait wait, we can't have this conversation here. There's a private room in the back, we can talk there." She began leading him by the hand into the back of the sake house. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Something cold would be great, Seyun. And I'm a lot better now, actually."

They entered one of the private dining (or more accurately, drinking) rooms, separated from the main room by little more than paper and distance. Regardless, the room was much quieter, the chatter reduced to background noise. Seyun motioned to one of the waitresses outside to get a drink from the back. She closed the paper door and turned to Gao Li, who had taken a seat.

"It's been weeks since your last visit, I was worried the council had finally bored you to death."

"They've been trying. And I've been meaning to visit; it's just between Taia training me and, well, council… There isn't enough time in the day."

Seyun smiled. "I completely understand, and I'm glad you're here. Working for my mom and school are getting to me a little, and it's really nice to see a friendly face."

A woman not much older than Seyun popped in through the door. "Here's the drink you ordered, chilled White Dragon tea… you must be that boy Seyun talks about! Nice to finally see her with a boyfriend."

Seyun shot the woman a look. "Seelah, he's not my boyfriend."

"Well if you're so sure maybe I'll take him… he's quite handsome for a councilman."

Seyun shot her a different look, though similar in anger and disdain. Gao Li tried his best to diffuse the situation, "Thank—thank you for the, uh, tea, Ms. Seelah."

"No problem, cutie."

Seyun sighed. "Seelah, I'd really prefer if you stayed out front to 'ply your trade.'"

"Ply my… Wait are you calling me a whore? I'm not a whore!" She turned and beseeched Gao Li with plaintive eyes. "I'm not a whore!"

"Seelah there's nothing wrong with it—it's the oldest profession!"

The older waitress pointed and glared at Seyun, who now had a particularly smug look on her face, before stomping out the door.

"That was—"

"A little harsh, I know, but Seelah just asks for it sometimes."

Gao Li took a refreshing gulp of his drink and produced a contented sigh. "I really needed that. So what's school like now?"

"Oh it's pretty terrible. They don't even _try _to make the propaganda subtle anymore. Still there're a few hardcore nationalist kids who eat it up."

"Is Jianpo still there? He was always hilarious, I haven't seen him in years."

Seyun's gaze turned away. "Jianpo enlisted in a military academy. Almost our whole class did. All that's left are a few merchant kids and…" she looked into her tea "… me."

Gao Li dropped his shoulders and his head dipped. "Oh." There was nothing else for him to say. He searched his mind, turned every possible phrase over but he couldn't think of anything to break this silence.

_The vagrancy laws._

The thought was always on Gao Li's mind, but this time it seemed to demand his attention.

_The vagrancy laws include building codes that force all buildings in the Poor District that are past a certain age to be destroyed and rebuilt for the merchants. All living inside will have to migrate out. The Oolong House is at least fifty years old. _

"I know that look."

He turned up. "W- I- huh?"

"That look. The one where you're a million miles away. Whenever something gets on your mind, you space out, you lose focus and you _always have that look_." Seyun smiled. "I know you too well Gao Li. So what are you thinking about?"

Again, there were no words. Gao Li didn't want to tell her. _Couldn't _tell her. He could only open his dry mouth. "Seyun, I…"

They heard a voice shouting in the main dining hall, the crackle and whoosh of firebending and the crack of a table breaking. Seyun cursed. "Dammit, another fight?"

The dining hall was quiet except for the hurried footsteps of Seyun and the ponderous ones of Gao Li. There was a guard in military attire standing over a man in ragged, stained clothes, lying between two halves of a broken table.

An older woman (Gao Li recognized her as Seyun's mother) raised her voice to a volume and tone more suitable for scolding, "Young man did you just attack this boy? It's absolutely shameful to see a guard betraying his uniform in such a—"

"Ma'am, this man attacked me. He wandered in drunk and started yelling and threatening me. I was defending myself."

The aforementioned drunkard picked himself up from the table, staggering to his feet as he wiped blood from his mouth. Despite his haggard features, he didn't look more than eighteen or nineteen. He chuckled before pointing at the guard, "See this—this is what I mean. You, you, you, you BENDERS!" He punctuated his exclamation with a forceful one-fingered jab at the guard's chest, "can't go ta a nice place like this without, without ATTACKING somebody, ya know? Yer living weapons! And you think, you think that bendin' some'ow makes you BETTER than those've us who can't bend?"

He dropped to the floor, throwing out his arms as if to better take in the scenery or cast the perceived injustices away from him. "Such a nice place… wait where am I again?"

Seyun's mother crossed her arms. "You're at the Oolong House."

"Ooooh…"

The guard pulled the sitting inebriate up to his feet by a seized collar. "Miss, would you mind if I threw this guy out?"

"Waitwaitwaitwait! Wait! I have money for drinks, and I promise to—" He frantically patted around the waistband of his pants. "Okay, no I don't."

The guard didn't look to the wrinkled woman as he began to drag the drunken man toward the exit. Gao Li followed to meet the guard at the door. "Listen, I'll escort this guy home. He didn't mean anything by what he said."

"Naw, I pretty much did."

"You are _not_ helping! Just let me take him home, sir."

The guard shot Gao Li a puzzled look before releasing the wino's collar and bowing, left palm-heel placed atop a closed right fist. "I apologize, Councilman, sir. I didn't recognize you... at least I didn't expect to see you here—"

"Yeah yeah, just keep your voice down." He turned his head; thankfully most of the patrons returned to their drinks and conversation. He noticed Seyun, and returned a smile and a wave goodbye. He returned his attention to the guard. "Just don't mention I was here, okay?"

"Of course, sir."

Gao Li grabbed the drunkard by the shoulder and as he walked through the door, called back "And please cut the 'yes sir, no sir, councilman sir' shit out. Gao Li is fine here."

Trying to steady the drunken man's weight on one shoulder, Gao Li quickly remembered his prior soreness, but dragged the muttering drunk back, inch by inch, along the street and out of the poor district. As they crossed the bridge to the Council District, the wino returned to reality from his rice wine-induced stupor, and smiled at his new escort. "Heyy there Gao Li!"

Gao Li breathed a heavy sigh. "Hey big brother. You feeling any better?"

"I'm tired. Are we almost home?"

"Yeah," Gao Li said, "we're almost home."


	4. Chapter 3

"I'm sorry, Gao Li, but the answer is no."

Gao Li's face dipped down before he began again to try and convince the other councilman of the nobility of his cause.

"Jin Yao, you know these vagrancy laws are unjust. You know it. But there's more than just the morality, there's the domestic commerce, there's the cost of the reconstruction—"

"It's not a matter of money, either…" The older councilman sighed. "You are too much like your father, Gao Li. Whenever he wanted to challenge Jheng, or whenever he was preparing to harangue for a new law he'd have that look in his eyes. That same determination, that same fire… I can't Gao Li. It's just too risky."

Jin Yao looked about him at the dispersed council lounging around the atrium, his eyes darting around before focusing back to Gao Li. "There was already a vote, Jheng has twice as many people on his side than would even consider voting against him. Once it returns to be codified it will pass into law. There's no way we could form a majority—"

"But the Nationalists are losing steam right now. The defeat at the North Pole was a major blow to the war effort, not to mention the return of the Avatar. It's going to change people's minds, Jin Yao."

"This isn't about the war. This is about the economic welfare of our city, and most members of the council—yourself included—have very heavy mercantile interests. I'm sorry Gao Li but there's just no way."

Gao Li looked down at his feet, his brow furrowed and his eyes set in place, weighed down by stoic consideration. "There's another way, Jin Yao."

The elder councilman's eyes first grew wide and then narrowed in anger. "Don't you dare, Gao Li. Don't you dare repeat your father's mistake-"

"I can challenge Jheng to Agni Kai. It's Pailong law, and as old and dated as it may be it's my only chance at stopping these laws from getting through. I'm not letting Jheng displace all those people."

Jin Yao buried the bridge of his nose in between his hands, muttering into the little space they'd formed. He dropped his hands to his sides and turned his eyes again to Gao Li.

"I'm not going to bother telling you how brainless, puerile and wrong this idea is, how it will ruin your political career, your life in Pailong, your family's lives… But you are your father's son, and this decision is already made in your mind. So let me just say this:" Jin Yao put an accusatory finger on Gao Li's chest. "You'd better not lose to Jheng. For your sake." With that the older Councilman stormed off, leaving Gao Li with only doubt in his mind.

* * *

Taia did not look happy when she greeted Gao Li at the door. She wordlessly ushered him inside and followed him to the villa's courtyard, where both sat down in side-by-side wooden chairs. They sat in silence, Gao Li's head tilted up, staring in the sky, while Taia looked at her hands, kneading her knuckles with her left hand. She was the first to break the silence.  
"Could you tell me _exactly_ what happened last night?"

Gao Li turned his head, then looked back at the sky. "I was at the Oolong house and I saw Raon in there. He threatened a guard and got knocked on his ass, and he was drunk. I'm pretty sure he was saying stuff about benders, too."

"'Stuff'? What kind of 'stuff'?"

"I'm pretty sure he called the guy a 'living weapon.'"

"So our brother doesn't like benders." Taia rested her forehead on her hand. "So which one of us is going to talk to him?"

"I had to carry him home last night AND had to spend all day in council. You do it."

"You know how badly I'd fuck this up. I'm already angry at him about getting drunk, but hating benders? If I had to talk to him alone I'd deck him."

Gao Li chuckled. "You would. We'll talk to him together."

"And then training."

He sighed."… And then training."

They found Raon lying facedown in his bed, still asleep in early afternoon. The light from the open door stretched out over him; he stirred and turned over, rubbing his eyes.

"Uggh my head," he moaned. "I don't know if it's from getting knocked on my ass or the hangover, but it feels like someone jammed a knife in there."

Taia spoke first. "So you _do_ remember what happened last night?"

"Yes, sister, I do."

"Oh, well, since you're thinking about it, you mind telling us _why on earth you were drunk?_"

"Because I wanted to drink. And when you drink, sometimes you get drunk."

Gao Li looked at his sister. _Taia didn't like that. At all._

He tried to interrupt before she could form a retort that might be coupled with a blast of fire. "Look, Raon, you've never gotten drunk before. You've always tried to keep your record clean for the military—"

"And you never said anything about us being benders either! What, do you think we're 'living weapons' too?"

"Look: I was drunk. I was mad at the guy for whatever reason I came up with, I didn't mean what I said." Raon looked away. "And I don't need to worry about my record anymore. They turned me down from enlisting. I can't join the army."

Raon had always wanted to join the army. After their father's death, he became single-minded in his desire to enlist. Their mother being called back to the front only intensified this wish, as did being the only non-bender in the family. And a few months after his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted. Or, as his two siblings just learned, he attempted to.

Gao Li watched as the realization spread over Taia's face, and her anger became pity, empathy. "I'm… I'm sorry Raon. I know how much it meant—"

"Taia it's alright. I'm fine." He moved the crimson sheets of his bed to the side, and picked up a few articles of clothing. "Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to get changed and walk off my hangover. Maybe get some tea."

The two siblings left Raon to his privacy. Taia walked ahead of Gao Li into the courtyard, pulling her hair back to be bound together. Gao Li knew what that meant.

"Training time, little brother. It's all technique today, so change into something appropriate."

Gao Li strayed behind for a moment before walking to meet his sister. He turned his head, catching only a glimpse of something that looked like indignation and hurt on his brother's face. He pushed aside his thoughts and followed Taia.


	5. Chapter 4

"Every firebender knows that when you boil a fire blast down to its core mechanics, its basically just shooting chi out of your body. Whether it's out of your fists, feet, palms, whatever, it's a straight flow from the core through your body and out at a target. But here's what I've discovered: in the same way that a dammed river will flow with explosive speed and strength once the dam is broken, if you block your chi at, say, the wrist, even for only a fraction of a second, it creates a more explosive, concussive fire blast. Granted, it's not as precise, but in close range it's quite effective. Like so."

Taia took a strong step forward and punched at Gao Li. The plume of fire was broader and rounder than normal, but just as effective—indeed, more effective—at knocking Gao Li straight on his back. The prone councilman could only groan.

"Ow. Okay point taken."

"You're spacing out, little brother. Focus on the lesson."

"Would it surprise you to hear that my reverie was in fact _related_ to the lesson?"

Taia paused. "Alright, let's hear it."

Gao Li stood up and moved next to Taia. "Have you ever seen a gecko-viper in the wild?"

"Once. And I thought this had to do with fireb—"

"Just listen. You know how when they see their prey, they coil their bodies up and hiss? And then they lunge out and try and sink their fangs in it. Now they have legs, sure, but those are just for climbing, and it's slow moving. So when they strike—" he began to mimic the motion with his hand, "each coil pushes off the one behind it, and the combined force is enough to launch them off a couple body-lengths through the air."

He turned to face Taia, his excitement causing his voice to speed up a little. "What if you could coil up your chi like that? Wrap up the chi in your arm, like a gecko-viper, and then let it strike out?"

Taia held a thoughtful look on her face, before turning again to her brother. "You've put a lot of thought into this, huh?"

"It's been on my mind all week: I was just waiting for a technique day."

Taia remained quiet for a few more seconds, before putting a hand on her brother's shoulder and saying, "Try it."

"Taia it's just an idea. I have no idea how it would even work, I mean—"

"You could be on the verge of creating a new firebending technique. I couldn't even tell you where to begin on performing it. Find a motion that works, and just try it." Taia walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, watching her brother.

He first closed his eyes and controlled his breathing. He cleared away all other thought. In, and out. In, and out. With each breath he tightened his core, pulling the energy out into his body, his arms, his head. He felt his body quiver, the sensation of heat running through his arms in long veins. Holding his left hand before him, he sunk his weight in his stance, staggering his feet. He could feel his breath get hotter with each release, the sweat beading on his forehead. He focused the direction of his energy, edging closer and closer to the tips of his fingers in his right hand.

He took in one long drag of breath through his nose, picturing energy coiling up in his arm. He thought of the gecko-viper, striking its prey. He thought of holding back the flood of energy, damming the chi in his arm. He stepped forward with his right foot, waiting just as it touched the ground to thrust out his hand, flattened and pointed like a spear.

Smoke.

Gao Li didn't expect much more, but was still a little disappointed. He knew that it _could _work, and maybe even that it _should_. How effective such a technique would be in actuality wasn't clear, but he felt close to something. What that may have been was rather unclear.

Taia stepped forward, staring into the space that the smoke occupied earlier. "Smoke is a lot better than nothing. Here, there has to be a better motion for that." She stepped ahead of Gao Li, looking up and down her forearm, staring at it front and back before looking back up and assuming a fighting stance. She held her right hand in front of her, drawing circles in the air, rotating her whole arm at the shoulder. She took the same deep breaths as Gao Li, tensed for a split second and then lunged forward with her right hand. A small jet of fire erupted from her fingertips, stretching forward only a couple feet before dissipating.

"So the circular movements help set up the Chi flow, but it needs… something." She stepped back a few paces and turned to her brother. "This might be a little easier for me if I can watch you do it. Try it again."

Gao Li stepped up, breathed in, rotated his arm the same way his sister did, and struck out. A small amount of fire, less than his sister's. She postulated several different kinds of movement, how to rotate the torso, the possibility of switching hands or perhaps make it part of a chain of fire blasts, none any more effective than the others. Taia's face scrunched up in frustration, her eyes darting about in deep concentration, until she settled upon one idea.

"Okay start in a horse stance, facing me. Put your hands out_ en garde_. Now bring your left foot behind your right, heel in line with your guard, and get in a low stance. Good, now this part is all one motion, so try and keep it fluid. Starting from your stance, bring your right foot up in a great arcing kick, bringing your hand along with it, then as your right foot lands in front of you, strike."

Gao Li felt his muscles ache as she described the kick. "Maybe I should stretch out more first."

"That's…" Taia stopped for a second, until she delicately stated. "… probably a good idea."

Gao Li placed his hands under the balls of his feet and straightened his legs, feeling his hamstrings loosen and give more slack. As he stretched out his hips, his sister practiced the motion she described a few times. She stopped and perked up a little, remembering something important.

She quickly added, "I think this move will benefit from some passion. While you want your chi to be controlled, you'll need some emotional…" she searched for the right word. "… oomph. Some passion, some force. So try and think of something that makes you angry. And I know that's a little hard for my demure little brother, but I'm sure you'll think of something."

Gao Li didn't disagree with Taia. Unlike her tendency toward confrontational aggressiveness followed by blasts of fire, or his brother's newfound love to drown his anger and feelings of impotence in booze, Gao Li was quite agreeable more often than not. It wasn't because he was incessantly happy and joyous, or that he was some doting enlightened master reborn in the body of a young man.

He wasn't quite sure, but having to deal with the administration of the city mellowed him out somewhat. He was used to certain expectations of decorum, and for the past three years Gao Li had been forced to grow up. He had adjusted his views from idealism to realism, from what his father had taught him to what _life _had taught him.

Jheng was the exception. Jheng was the one thing that still got to him, that made him raise his voice, made him _angry_. Gao Li could hear the callous apathy in Jheng's voice, the unfeeling chill that his manner contained, ringing in his ears. The way he looked at people like he was looking at a corpse, at an animal, something _lesser_. How he said what he did was for the greater good, the good of the Fire Nation. How the day before his father died, after their Agni Kai, Gao Li saw him eyeing his father with… intent.

Gao Li realized that if he had room in his heart to hate one man, it was Councilman Jheng.

"You're spacing out again brother."

Gao Li realized he'd been stretching for a great while now. "Whoops! Sorry."

He inhaled, assumed the stance. As he felt the chi flow into his limbs, surge through his body, he could only imagine Jheng standing there with that same look, that same hateful look. All Gao Li could imagine was striking through Jheng's heart.

The blast of fire was impressive, to be sure. Gao Li could feel the heat of it on his face, could feel little pin-pricks all over his arm as the chi exploded from the tips of his fingers. But what was most striking about it was its shape: a near perfect jet that extended all the way across the courtyard.

Taia walked over to Gao Li as she gave a slight nod. "Very impressive. I think if you practiced that enough it'd be a great finishing move for a form. Next time there's a public exhibition we'll sign you up." She turned to her brother, and noticed his distant stare. "Gao Li."

"Huh? Oh, that's… yeah. Exhibition, good."

Taia's brow furrowed. "Is something on your mind little brother? You've been pretty distant today."

"I just…" Gao Li sighed. "In council, Jheng has… he… okay." Gao Li pressed his fingers on his closed eyelids, preparing for whatever his sister might have in response to his news. "I'm challenging Jheng to an Agni Kai."

To her brother's surprise, Taia was silent. She held a uniform stare as Gao Li cringed away from an expected blast of fire, glanced back at her and relaxed. She at last broke the silence.

"Why?"

"I told you about that new building ordinance he's trying to put through, right?"

Taia remained silent.

"Well, those building codes are going to displace almost the entire poor district. Families, businesses, people who have invested their livelihoods—their _lives _into Pailong. " Gao Li's voice started to get louder, his gesticulations wilder. "The toil and sweat and blood that's gone into eking out something, anything, and he wants to undo all of it. All of their lives, all of their work, he'll just make it meaningless and worthless like it's nothing, like _they're_ nothing!"

Taia's expression changed from puzzled annoyance to placating rationality. "Gao Li I think I understand—"

"He doesn't care about _anyone!_ He just sees numbers and, and figures to be manipulated and contorted to benefit him and his nationalistic, authoritarian, lapdog power game! He's going to kill these people with this! He will!"

"Gao Li, I understand what you're saying, but please just—"

"You haven't seen him Taia! You haven't seen how he looks at people like they're worthless, like they're animals! He's sick! He'll kill any of these people just as easily as he killed dad!"

Dead silence. Gao Li felt all the vindictive strength leave his body as the pause began to stretch out, close around his neck and limbs. He wanted so desperately to recant everything, to just undo what he stumbled into. His wishes went mercilessly unanswered.

Gao Li had no idea what to expect from his sister at this point, but what he least expected was a firm, placating hand on his shoulder.

"When are you going to challenge him?"

"The ordnances are receiving one final vote once they return from the homeland—they're going to be approved, Jheng has a few bureaucrats in his pocket for this sort of thing. I have to challenge him then, four days from now."

Taia smirked. "Then we have work to do. This sounds like something you need to win Gao Li… and as your sifu I'll be damned before I let you lose an Agni Kai to some old diplomat."

Gao Li couldn't help but beam at his sister. "Thank you, Taia." His head snapped up as he remembered his final outburst. "Taia, when I said he killed—I mean that—"

"Gao Li, whatever you know or saw… that's for you to share."

"You're… you're not going to tell me I'm crazy? Or anything?"

"Little brother…" Taia turned her face away as determination became reluctance and pain. "We're going to talk about that, but now's not the time. Right now, you're going to be fighting Jheng and you need all the practice you can get."

She let her hair down, threw on a light robe over her practice attire, and headed towards her room.

"I'm going to take a nap, maybe meditate… I suggest you do the same. Or whatever you do to clear your head and relax."

Gao Li turned his thoughts towards the Oolong house and Seyun. Never before had he so desperately wished for little more than a large pot of fine tea and a good friend's company. He slipped into his casual robes and exited the estate.


	6. Chapter 5

_"You know what they called him during his service, don't you?"_

_ The room was smoky. He stared through the haze. Saw Taia, she was taking things from the wall. Flags of Mom and Dad's regiments, of their house, of the Fire Nation. She was taking them down and laying them on the floor._

_ "Why are you doing that?"_

_ "Because you're fighting Jheng, and we need to lay these down. They're not important. You should walk on them."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "I just told you: they're not important."_

_ He opened the door, and saw the stage. The ring was surrounded by smoke, and faces watched from the haze. They were inscrutable; they just blended in. Watching him, watching with cold eyes._

_ The ring was crisper, clearer. The haze was gone, and Gao Li was kneeling, the weight of that little ceremonial cloth felt like iron. He couldn't just brush it off. All of his muscles felt useless, and time felt like it would never end._

_ "You know what they called him during his service, don't you?"_

_ He stood up, still facing away from the one he was going to fight. He felt his eyes sweep across everything, the faces almost hidden except for their eyes, as he turned to meet what stood across the ring from him._

_ He looked into Jheng's eyes. They were cold, indifferent, cruel. Gao Li shuddered. He saw Jheng, wearing those same council robes, standing so still and quiet. Gao Li could see something rising from the background—the source of the smoke._

_ The Poor District was on fire, and the smoke was filling the entire basin. Jheng burned it to the ground, and Gao Li could imagine every second of it._

_ He looked across the bridge and saw the Oolong House, burning, as the support frames became a blackened skeleton. Gao Li could do nothing as he was absolutely sure Seyun was dying. He saw Jheng's eyes. That intent. That cold instinct that just lurked there._

_ A coiled gecko-viper, waiting for his prey._

"_You know what they called him during his service, don't you?"_

_ Gao Li was thirteen again, and could see Jheng's eyes. His father had just defeated him, and Jheng had never looked this way. His eyes were stuck in Gao Li's head. He couldn't forget those eyes._

_ Gao Li looked across the ring at Jheng. The smoke was an almighty pillar, engulfing the sky, engulfing the city, engulfing everything. It was a dragon, a terrible, terrible dragon, a force that only swelled and swelled before Gao Li. But he was still standing there, and Jheng was staring straight at him._

_"You know what they called him during his service, don't you?"_

_ Gao Li hated that day, that funeral, that man who told him things about duty and honor and the Fire Nation and Pailong and ancestors and descendants to come. And Gao Li could only nod in silence, because he was only thirteen. He didn't want to be responsible for his family's honor. He was only thirteen, and this was all wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong._

_ Something happened. It was slow, gradual, but as Gao Li watched Jheng's face, he saw something more chilling than the old councilman's eyes. Jheng was smiling, and Gao Li couldn't even to open his mouth and scream as the smoke blotted out the sky, as Jheng breathed in, stepped forward, and released. The fire was blinding, and Gao Li couldn't scream as everything he knew was engulfed in flames._

_"You know what they called him during his service, don't you?"_

_ He couldn't remember who said it. In the blind darkness he could only hear:_

_ "The Butcher of Ba Sing Se"_

_

* * *

_Gao Li slammed upright in his bed, sweat falling in tiny rivulets down his face. He panted, holding the sheets of his bed close to his chest. The pounding in his ears slowed, and he pieced together that he was going to challenge Jheng in three days' time.

Gao Li heard a clinking outside of his room. He slipped into a robe and slunk into the courtyard. In the pale light of the waning moon he could only just discern Raon, moving and stepping, breathing, lunging out. Gao Li could hear a sound like rushing wind, and saw a little flag whirling around Raon; the tassel-cloth at the end of a chain-whip. Raon didn't notice Gao Li as he edged into the courtyard and watched Raon finish his kata.

"Chain-whip, huh?"

Raon stiffened, turned to look at Gao Li, then relaxed.

"Gao Li you scared the shit out of me. Please don't do that."

"Sorry. So you're studying the chain-whip?"

"I bought it today… figured I should know some form of combat. Now I can use this place too… practice here when you and Taia don't."

Raon avoided Gao Li's eyes.

"Brother…look I'm sorry about the army. I know how much that meant to you—I mean it was your dream for the past couple of years—"

"My dream?" Raon chuckled. "That's not my dream. That's just as close as I could've gotten. I can never have my dream."

Gao Li became more apprehensive as the conversation continued. His brother was delicate right now and Raon wasn't always so balanced to begin with. If the last few nights were any indication, he was dealing with a lot.

"Nothing's impossible Raon."

At last Raon's eyes met Gao Li's, filled with something ugly and wounded.

"My dream is, and has always been, to be you Gao Li."

The younger brother shifted his weight from one foot to the other in awkward silence. He could only begin with: "Oh, well—"

Raon cut him off. "You know, you always come home, and all you talk about is how tough it is to sit in that council chamber, to go in every day and decide the fate of Pailong… You have a privilege that I've always been denied Gao Li."

"To be a councilman?"

Raon snarled. "To be a bender."

Gao Li wanted to prepare a retort, but he said nothing.

_ How long has this been simmering under the surface? I knew Raon must have some problems not being able to bend but… I never knew it was this strong. He has no idea how much I wish he was in my position. He's so damned deluded sometimes, so damned self-absorbed I just can't-_

"Gao Li. You're drifting off."

"Sorry."

"Father always preferred you, you know. When I was born, I was supposed to succeed him. He gave me his name, in part. Raon, firstborn son of Rao Tsu. But when I couldn't bend… he never looked at me the same way."

"He wouldn't do that. He didn't do that. He loved all of us. Raon, how could you say that about him, his memory, how could you—"

"I knew I shouldn't even have bothered." He wrapped the chain whip up into a neat coil and bumped past Gao Li. The elder brother offered a few passing words before retiring.

"You know why they turned me down? The army? They said that they weren't looking for non-bending recruits at this point, especially from a council family. Count your blessings, Gao Li, because I'm really tired of you calling them your problems."

Gao Li didn't want to go back to sleep. He lay in that bed for what could have been hours, or minutes, or no time at all, alone with his thoughts until fatigue overtook him. He slept turbulent, dreamless sleep, knowing only the void that surrounded him.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Gao Li tried to keep his breathing silent as he knelt in the council meeting. He drew in air with careful precision, exhaling through barely parted lips. He tried to keep his mind clear as the elderly Councilman Wu Xin droned on a little longer than necessary about his tax for some war initiative and how it would bring honor and glory to the fire nation. Gao Li attempted to keep his mind a tranquil pond, free of ripples, as Taia so sagaciously put.

_I have to challenge Jheng today. Fuck._

It wasn't going well.

"Thank you for your ears, councilmen. Long live Pailong."

The assembly responded in unison. "Long live the Fire Nation."

Gao Li's eyes darted to Jheng. He seemed distant as ever, his brown eyes unfocused under well-trimmed brows. He had dark hair streaked with gray, which he wore long, part bound in a traditional topknot. He very seldom stroked his beard, a trimmed goatee, at odds with the longer and more ornate styles of his contemporaries. It could have been the fear working through his veins, but Gao Li couldn't help but feel that Jheng tried very hard to retain a semblance of youth—or perhaps he wasn't trying at all.

The Chief Councilman's voice sounded from the head of the table. "The floor goes to Councilman Jheng. Councilman?"

Jheng produced a scroll from his folded sleeves, and laid it on the table.

"The proposed building ordnances have returned from the homeland, bearing the Fire Lord's seal."

Gao Li felt the uneasiness in his stomach grow. He could feel cold sweat congeal on his palms and neck, thin drops flowing downward. He tried to knead his palms, to release any tension he could. He knew at this point how to keep his face calm, and betrayed nothing.

"The assembly shall take one more vote, and should those voting yea outnumber those voting nay by more than one-quarter of the council, then the law is passed."

Gao Li sighed below his breath. He began to think of everything leading to this point. He thought of the people of Pailong, who so desperately needed this bill to stop. He thought of the men and women and children whose lives would be uprooted, destroyed. He thought of how much they needed his strength.

"All in favor?"

Every hand in the council chamber raised, save his and a few others. They wouldn't vote against Jheng, only abstain. Even Jin Yao raised a feeble hand, his eyes trained on Gao Li.

Gao Li thought of his father, who had opposed this tyrant before. He could only hope his father would be proud of his actions. He could only hope his family wouldn't suffer for his idealism.

"All opposed?"

Gao Li mechanically extended his hand upward. He didn't even look at Jheng.

"All abstaining?"

He thought of Seyun, and how much she needed his strength, and how much _he_ needed _her_. She was his last friend outside of his family, one of the few people who made him really happy anymore. He thought of living in Pailong without being able to visit the Oolong house and see Seyun. The thought was almost as unbearable as waiting in the endless silence of that council chamber.

"Is there anything else that must be resolved?"

Gao Li stood up. The assembly looked at him with questioning eyes, save Jin Yao, who looked positively furious, and Jheng, who looked just a little bored.

"Councilman Jheng."

Gao Li's voice, to his own surprise, sounded authoritative and strong. He had been dreading the thought of a voice crack.

Jheng cocked an eyebrow at the young councilman.

"Under the auspices of Pailong and Fire Nation law, I challenge you to Agni Kai."

Gao Li had always imagined that at his outburst, the assembly would begin muttering and gossiping amongst themselves, or the chamber would be united in a clichéd gasp. Perhaps even a few of the older councilwomen would faint.

The room was dead silent. All eyes were trained on Gao Li. The young councilman had to try and hold his gaze on Jheng. The councilman at first looked shocked, but then, as he held his eyes locked with Gao Li's, betrayed the faintest smile before asking, "What are your terms, Councilman?"

"Tomorrow, at noon, in the central staging grounds, fighting until one of us yields. If I win, the ordnances are voided, and a new law protecting the families and livelihoods in the poor district. If you win, the law passes."

Jheng's smile crept out further. "You know, a trend is growing in the homeland for Agni Kai to be fought until death… but I suppose we'll not indulge such savagery in Pailong. I do, however, wish to add one final stipulation." Jheng tilted his head upward ever so slightly, to meet Gao Li's eyes fully.

"We place our honor on the line. Whoever loses, he and his family removed from the council permanently."

Gao Li swallowed hard, but kept his visage stern. "Deal."

"Your terms are accepted, Councilman." Jheng was now smiling completely, his eyes gleaming with dark intent. "We duel tomorrow at noon. Good luck."

* * *

"You didn't."

Gao Li was surprised to see Seyun at his door. "Seyun! Hi, I was just practicing, let me, uh, change into something—"

"Gao Li cut the hippo-bull shit. It's late and I just got off from work. Come on." She went inside and pulled the councilman by his hand. She turned around once the door was closed and looked at Gao Li with fearful eyes.

"You didn't."

Gao Li scratched his head in an attempt at nonchalance. "Has rumor spread already? I didn't know…"  
"You challenged… you challenged Jheng. Councilman Jheng. The Butcher of _Ba Sing Se_—" she stressed every syllable of the great city's name. "to a fire duel?"

"Well… yes."

"Over some stupid building ordnance? Gao Li, right now I'm terrified and angry but more than anything… I'm confused! Why? Why does that matter so much?"

"Seyun, it's—"

"I know that council drives you crazy, but is this an answer? At all? I mean even slightly? How can this be rational, you're risking your family's honor on, on, on some _grudge_!"

Gao Li's response came a little sterner. "Seyun. It's not like that at—"

"I mean it's not to the death, but you can still _die!_ I mean really, Gao Li, you should know a lot better than that! Your father _won _his duel and still died—"

"_Seyun._" Gao Li grabbed her shoulder and wrist, and met her eyes with more anger than he'd ever mustered at her.

"Do not speak about my father like that again. Ever."

She drew back with hurt in her eyes. Gao Li could tell she was near tears.

"Please Gao Li… I just care about you. I don't want you to die for… for nothing. Please call it off."

He did not soften. "I've made my decision. I'm fighting Jheng."

Seyun dipped her head and turned her eyes from Gao Li. She walked towards the door under Gao Li's hard stare and opened the door, turning her head and spitting with equal parts venom and hurt: "You're just so cold sometimes, Gao Li…"

Gao Li felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. A familiar voice rang in his head that sent a chill down his spine.

_Cold. Just like me._

He just wanted to scream why he was doing it, that he was doing it to protect _her_, to make sure she could live a peaceful life, but he couldn't find the words. All he could do was shout and expel a gout of fire from his mouth.

He found Taia in the courtyard, standing with her arms crossed.

"Why didn't you just tell her—"

"I know, I know I know _I know._ Just please tell me to do some more conditioning or something."

"You get the night off little brother. Meditate, try and relax. And get some sleep."

"But how—"

"You remember what we worked on? Our strategy?"

"Yes."

"Then you're fine."

"But what if—"

"_Little brother_." Taia gripped her brother's shoulder like a vice. " While I can't vouch for your interpersonal skills right now, you put in twice as much time into training as every stodgy, fat old man in that council combined. It doesn't matter what they called that old bastard when he was in the army, that was a billion years ago." She smiled. "Dad would be proud."

Gao Li could only look down and smile.

"Now stop being such a wimp, stop moping and _get some sleep_. I'll see you in the morning."

She left for her room, leaving Gao Li to slump down in one of the chairs and look at the night sky. He felt languorous fatigue grip his limbs, as he muttered:

"I'm doing it for you."


	8. Chapter 7

Gao Li knelt on smoothed stone, his house's flag draped on his shoulders. He rested his knuckles on the ground, waiting for the gong. He went shirtless, wearing only light-fitting trousers. He kept his eyes straight down, looking at the same patch of stone as what felt like half an hour went by. It may have been only a few seconds, it may have been much longer. His attention was split between the wait, his strategy and his last few conversations. He kept repeating his sister's advice as a whispered mantra.

* * *

"What are the two greatest tools a firebender has?"

Gao Li's brow furrowed as he grasped for an answer he clearly didn't know.

"Um."

"'Um' is not one of them, brother. You have two guesses before I hit across the head. Here's a tip: the answer isn't 'fire'."

Gao Li considered this for a while, then opened his mouth.

"Is it—"

"It's not chi, either."

Gao Li closed his mouth again.

"Time's up." She smacked him across the head just hard enough to sting. "It's sort of an open-ended question, but usually it boils down to your stance and your mobility." She assumed a low fighting stance, her eyes trained on an imaginary target. "Out of all the styles of bending, firebending is unique in that it can borrow elements of other bending styles and incorporate them almost seamlessly. You can lean towards a more earthbending-based style, with powerful rooted stances. It's a lot easier to pull off than the more airbending-influenced hit and run style—mostly because we can only guess how those techniques would translate into firebending -but it's all dependent on the stance." She took a few strong steps forward, punching away from Gao Li with great plumes of fire.

"Jheng is old. He's a good bender and he has experience, but he's at least in his forties, if not his fifties. He's not going to have the same mobility as you will, but he'll be a hell of a lot stronger if he gets into a good stance. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he can lightningbend." She noticed Gao Li's face go a little pale at the mention of lightningbending.

"You're going to have to get used to that thought. He's no slouch, and when he gets a chance he's going to try and lightningbend. So, if this is the case, what's your strategy?"

"Be mobile?"

"Hey, he's learning! Who knows, little brother, maybe Jheng won't roast you alive after all."

* * *

Gao Li heard the gong ring. He felt the draping fall of his shoulder, as he turned around to face Jheng. His mind was quiet, his face resolute. He held his hands _en garde_, expecting Jheng to be slower getting up. The old man was already standing up when Gao Li turned around, and had the barest hint of a smile.

Gao Li hated that damn smile.

* * *

"Again."

Gao Li dove at the stone ground, rolled along his shoulder, sprung to his feet and struck out with a solid bolt of fire. He nearly missed the wooden target, and dizzily tried to regain his balance. He felt sweat drip off of his face as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

"Again."

He dove, rolled, jumped and tossed a haphazard ball of fire somewhere into the air. His back was bruised and cut from rolling on the uneven tile. He desperately wanted something cool to drink and to stop rolling on the fucking—

"Again."

Mechanically he dove again, this time unable to spring to his feet.

"Up, little brother! We're not done"

"Oh, trust me," he said between heaving breaths, "I'm done."

"Jheng isn't going to take any breaks Gao Li. He's going to be relentless, and he's going to be motivated. You need to be able to outmaneuver him—"

"I also need to be _alive_. I don't think I can handle two more days of this and be able to fight him."

"I don't take excuses, brother. It's conditioning, and we'll treat those scrapes afterward. You'll be fine, you only have fifteen more."

Gao Li perked his head up and looked at Taia. "You know that's not that bad—"

"On each side."

"Oh _fuck_ that."

"If you're going to whine maybe you should just find another trainer then." Taia hoisted Gao Li up by his arm, making sure to brush some of the dust and rocks off of his back. "Or you could just spar me if you really don't want to condition."

Gao Li dove away from Taia, rolled and shot off another fire blast, singing the target's wooden torso.

"Good pupil. Now to the right."

* * *

Jheng stood absolutely still as Gao Li inched forward across the ring. Both keenly waited for the second gong to ring. The old man was still wearing formal robes, and still bore that slight smirk, that edge of black humor with which he approached bringing a young man to his knees. But his eyes were different.

They seemed infused with something new; the cold apathy was gone. There wasn't fury, or loathing, or even his usual bored disdain. This was keener, brighter, more frenzied, like the eyes of a demon.

Like a berserker, relishing in the slaughter.

The second gong eclipsed all other sound as Gao Li inhaled to the bottom of his stomach.

* * *

"So I realized you might be a bit sore from yesterday."

Taia leaned on her elbow, resting her weight on a table as she stared at her brother's head, buried in his arms as a healer worked balms into his back. Gao Li could only look up with tired eyes at his clearly unaffected sister.

"Yes. Sore is a good word. If you wrote it a thousand times on a giant brick wall and then _hit me with the wall_, sore would be absolutely fucking terrific way to put it."

"See I just sort of have a knack for these things. So I figured I'd go light on conditioning today. In that there is none."

Gao Li's eyes opened wide. "You're lying to me."

"Nope. I think today's a perfect day for technique practice." She rustled her brother's hair. "Is that agreeable?"

"Very."

After he had finished his session with the healer, Gao Li met his sister in the courtyard. She stood up immediately as he came into view and held her hand up.

"Stop!"

Gao Li froze mid-step.

"What's this abou—"

"Think fast!" She stepped forward and sent a quick bolt of fire at Gao Li's head, leaving him barely enough time to dive away from the blast and roll into a fighting stance.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Taia relaxed. "Testing you," she replied playfully. "And you passed!"

Gao Li stood up and walked a little too close to Taia, his mouth agape and his finger raised as if he was about to launch into some indignant diatribe. His head slowly drooped as he seemed to give up, dropping his hand.

"You know I'd say I'm shocked, but really this seems like exactly the type of thing you'd do."

"Pretty much."

They were silent for a bit, before Gao Li ventured, "Are you going to make me condition again?"

"No. Today I'm going to show you something completely new."

She sat Gao Li at one of the chairs facing the target dummy, stood between the two and began one of what Gao Li liked to call her "sifu speeches."

"Remember how I said that firebending styles can draw from earthbending or airbending?"

"You said that? All I remember were barked orders and thinly veiled threats to my safety."

"Remember better then. Well most 'experts' will tell you that each form of bending has an opposite, and those bending styles are bound to be opposite as well. It's hard to earthbend like an airbender, and it's hard to firebend like a waterbender. That's what they _say_ at any rate."

She held her right hand open at her stomach and formed a small flame. "I've been studying firebending my whole life, and it is possibly the most unique of the four disciplines in terms of sheer flexibility. Even though the war has definitely stopped any peaceful meeting between firebenders and benders from other nations, it hasn't stopped the flow of information. I have a few illustrated waterbending scrolls, and I've found that I can somewhat easily combine the two techniques."

"Hold on, hold on." Gao Li stood up and paced toward Taia. "I always heard you say that the reason people use the basic firebending style is out of efficiency, and that 'stream of fire' waterbending-influenced stuff just isn't as efficient."

"See, that much is true. In order to be able to do things like absorb and redirect an opponent's fire in the same way waterbenders do, it takes an insane amount of finesse and expenditure of chi, so it's a lot more effective just to block or dodge it. That's not what I learned."

Gao Li went back to his chair to sit down. Taia was getting excited, and when she got excited about bending she could talk forever. He figured he'd make himself comfortable.

"What I learned is that waterbending isn't just about redirecting and returning attacks, reusing that energy. It's more than that, it's about creating attacks that are almost _alive_: the change, mutate, adapt, switch from water to ice and back again. It's about using a small amount of energy, and then learning how to take that and turn it into almost anything. I know saying this is 'subversive to our glorious nation's conquest of the lesser realms,' but waterbending is really… elegant. Of course, firebending beats it every day hands-down. I'd say I'm a little biased, but if I had to rate forms of bending, I'd put waterbending at number two. I don't know crap about airbending, and earthbending is just about the exact opposite of elegance."

Gao Li quietly raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Can you get to the point _before_ Jheng kills me?"

"I was getting to it… fine. So here's the point: I've created something that I hope'll give you a leg up against Jheng. I like to call it dynamic firebending."

She assumed a fighting stance and extended her left fist at the target dummy.

"Now pay attention, little brother, because I'm about to show you your new secret weapon."

* * *

Gao Li watched as Jheng unfastened his robe, letting it fall to the ground. The old man kept in shape, as Gao Li struggled to detect a single bit of fat on his body: his muscles stood out like stones pulling against his skin. He kicked the robe away and stood, waiting for the young councilman to strike. Gao Li took a long step forward, shifted his weight along a low stance and struck forward with both fists, sending out a bright ball of orange-red fire.

Jheng held out a single hand as the blast descended upon him. His fingers were pointed straight out and as it nearly came to fell him, and making only the barest of motions he took a small step forward and struck it with the edge of his hand.

The attack was completely bifurcated. Flames spilled out to either side of the old councilman. He cracked his neck and dropped low as he assumed a fighting stance.

"This won't take long." Jheng brought two fingers up in front of his face, smiling as they began to crackle with lightning.


	9. Chapter 8

Gao Li had only just enough time to jump out of the way of Jheng's lightning. He popped to his feet and started pounding away as many shots as he could at the old bastard. Jheng swatted away the few that came near to hitting him like they were troublesome insects. He prepared another bolt of lightning. Gao Li dove again, but as he stood up Jheng released the bolt. Gao Li froze, feeling lightning singe the tiniest bit of his hair.

His heart was pounding louder in his ears than anything he had heard before, and he almost collapsed out of breath. He snapped his head to Jheng, expecting another lightning bolt, but instead saw the old councilman laughing.

"I thought you were going to piss yourself that time. Oh well, we can't always—"

"Just shut up and fight, you pig."

Jheng stopped laughing, but kept his insidious smile. "With pleasure."

He dropped into a low stance and began to take wide stomps forward, sending out huge blasts of fire. Gao Li attempted to block only one. The force sent him stumbling and he had to drop to the ground to avoid the others. More came, and he dove and rolled away, trying to get out of Jheng's line of sight. He swept his leg low; an arc of fire skimmed the ground and forced Jheng to stop his assault and jump.

Gao Li seized the opportunity. Popping up to his feet, he sucked in, pulling in breath with all of his might. He jumped, fired two bolts before landing and a third greater one with both palms extended.

Jheng swatted the first two away, and dispersed the third with a loud stomp forward and two opposite swings of his arms, forearms angled above his head and below his chest. Gao Li recognized it; it was a basic blocking technique, dispersing a direct fire blast with negative energy. Except it would ordinarily end with the dispersing part.

A halo of orange flame surrounded Jheng's body, held in place by his stance. He opened his fists, rotated his arms around his torso and drew them in so that his hands were cupped at his side, pulling the flames into the space between his hands. He snorted in air through his nose, raised his left hand with shaking tension, with index finger and thumb extended, the rest bent at the second knuckle. He leaned forward, pulling his left hand back as he moved his right fist forward, breathing out through his mouth. His body shook, every muscle tensed. He let out one final breath, stepped forward and struck.

Gao Li felt a wave of force and heat strike his body before he could dodge. He was able to block some of the heat, but the impact sent him rolling along the ground until he skidded to a stop. He felt a sharp pain in his side as he dimly realized that one of his ribs was broken. He tried to prop himself up on his elbow while clutching his side. As the ringing in his ears subsided, he heard a low, unintelligible sound that rose in pitch until it returned to the sound of Jheng's voice.

"… f r o m w a t ching waterbender auxiliaries at Ba Sing Se. It's a handy little technique, but it takes a damned good bit of practice." He stayed at the center of the ring, his eyes trained on Gao Li. "Oh and don't worry about losing just yet: I'll let you catch your breath. See, I don't get the chance to talk to you very often, and if you're suicidal enough to keep fighting I'll oblige you. Just try and remain conscious, the officials will stop me if you pass out."

Gao Li fought his way to his feet before collapsing to a knee again. His face was contorted with pain as he wrapped protective arms in front of his shattered rib. Jheng paused momentarily before continuing.

"You know, I'm actually quite thrilled that you challenged me, Gao Li. I've been wanting to fight you for quite a long while, and not for the reasons you think."

Gao Li wanted to yell a myriad of curses at him, but he could only heave and draw in breath after excruciating breath.

"We're a lot alike, boy. Much more than you'll allow yourself to believe."

Gao Li couldn't suffer this in silence. He let out a hoarse protest.

"I'm nothing like you, fascist."

"Oh, your words are _barbs_, sir." Jheng cheekily feigned a wound to his chest. "We have at least one thing in common."

"What could we possibly—"

"We both hate being Councilmen."

Gao Li looked up. "You—"

"Oh don't be so surprised. I served in the military for fifteen years, including one of the first sieges on Ba Sing Se. When my invalid father died I was called to serve on the Pailong Council. I wasn't able to join the Dragon of the West's campaign, perhaps for the better." He stopped smiling, his tone changing from nostalgic wistfulness to contemptuous anger. "I hate that council. I hate sitting there every day, _every fucking day_, listening to old useless men ramble on while I become equally old and useless. I serve out of obligation to family and country, much like yourself I believe."

He spread his arms out wide, embracing the air as he drew in a deep breath. "This, however, _this_ is my passion. There is nothing that fills me with the same joy as firebending. There is nothing I can think of that could compare to the conflict, the struggle, the crisp air in my lungs, the beating of my heart, the hot chi in my belly- the fire of dragons! They were hunted to extinction but they live on in me, in all of us! Firebending is their apotheosis, their immortal triumph!"

He looked back to Gao Li with mad eyes, "And it's from those apex predators, Gao Li, that we all should learn the Truth: the strong survive. The weak die." He looked at his clutched fists, his eyes darting around like they were things alive. "They have imparted that knowledge unto me. They were magnificent creatures; I wish I could have killed one myself."

He laughed to himself. "Those liar monks who called themselves enlightened were fools. They knew nothing of wisdom, nothing of Truth. If they were truly enlightened they would know that pacifism is the ultimate weakness, that forgiveness is the ultimate failure. They deserved their fate. That is why we wage war, Gao Li, to purify this world of the weak and unfit. I'm not a nationalist: I'm an Enlightened One."

Jheng snapped away from his monologue as he noticed Gao Li. The young councilman held his face pointed down, the hand that wasn't over his side clenched in a tight fist. Jheng watched rhythmic plumes of fire come out of Gao Li's mouth. The boy looked up, his eyes full with hate Jheng had never seen before.

Gao Li removed his other hand from his side. Jheng could barely hear him say: "Jheng."

The old councilman watched in silence.

"SHUT," Gao Li took a leaping step forward with his right foot. "THE FUCK," He dropped into a twist stance and swept his foot high above his head in a great crescent.

He set his foot down and struck. "UP!"

Fire shot out in a brilliant spear, spiraling towards Jheng's heart. The old councilman guarded his body, but his block wasn't enough. He was flung back, struglling to regain his balance. Gao Li gave him no chance to rest, dropping into a low stance, spinning around and leaping into the air as he brought down two long whips of fire. He lashed out at Jheng's feet, wrapping a tendril around the Butcher's ankles and pulling with all his might.

Jheng fell, but as he hit the ground spun his legs to release from the fire whip and rolling backward to a firm stance. Gao Li began firing a hail of smaller fire blasts with mechanical precision, almost every one of which was swatted away by Jheng. The old councilman stood up after the assault with a look somewhere between disappointment and confusion.

"Oh come on Gao Li, that strange new fire lance combined with the fire whips was absolutely _brilliant_. But you already tried overwhelming me with smaller blasts, and it didn't work the first time! I can't believe you'd throw away such a critical advantage! I thought you were better than that!"

Gao Li held his palms extended outward with his fingers pointing inward. "I am, Jheng. Look around you."

Jheng looked around, his eyes widening as he noticed the dozens of small fireballs suspended in mid-air. He could barely begin a word before Gao Li twisted his feet and clenched his hands into fists. The balls exploded inward in cones of force and heat that sent Jheng sprawling. He groaned, pushing himself to his knees and spitting out blood and a tooth before Gao Li kicked him in the side and pinned him, a blade of fire placed at Jheng's throat.

"It's over Jheng. Yield."

Jheng heaved and stared at Gao Li with fearful eyes, before smiling another bloodied smile.

"I'll give you this, that was quite creative. Well done too, relying on your opponent's assumptions to blindside them. I haven't had a fight this difficult in years. But it's not over yet Gao Li."

He belched a blast of fire into Gao Li's eyes. The young councilman turned his face away, feeling the heat run near the nape of his neck. The old councilman rolled to a kneeling stance and placed his hands on the ground. The audience gasped as he stood up, pulling pillars of molten rock up to his shoulders, and with a nimble sweep of his hands condensing it into a single orb. Gao Li felt dizzy as he mentally added lavabending to one of Jheng's talents.

The Butcher was still smiling as he laughed. "It's _far_ from over."


	10. Chapter 9

Gao Li tried to stay on his feet, but he could feel his knees about give way from under him. He was exhausted, terrified and near collapse, perhaps even bleeding internally. He dimly regarded the heat he felt radiating from the roiling globe of magma, and the fact that he had never even seen lava before, only paintings in scrolls. His thoughts were soon disrupted by the sound of Jheng's deep breath. The old firebender held both hands pointed at the great orb, and with a loud, continuous exhale he moved the sphere to face Gao Li. He pulled one hand back to his waist, and with another sharp breath struck at the roiling orb's side. Gao Li jumped and dove away from Jheng, glimpsing out of the corner of his eye the older man's blast of—

Rocks?

The young councilman's eyes darted between the orb of lava suspended in front of Jheng, Jheng himself and the few shards of gleaming black stone embedded into the side of a pillar. He didn't even think to prepare another strike or tactic: he could only stand in dumb silence. Jheng moved about the orb, his hand still trained on it, and struck again. Gao Li watched as the molten stone rippled and released a few small points of lava, each cooling into the same black stone. Gao Li tried to dive yet again, but fell onto his front as one of the stones pierced his left bicep.

Waves of pain surged out from the spot, a combination of snapped sinew and searing heat. He screamed, wailed, rolled onto his back as he forgot everything around him. He grasped blindly at the obsidian shard, only to snap his hand away from the searing heat of the glass. He scrambled to the water along the edge of the ring, feeling a little of the pain subside as he dunked his arm in the cooling water, his face buffeted by the heat and audible hiss of water becoming vapor. His whole body shook as he vomited onto the edge of the ring. Wiping the bile from the edges of his mouth, Gao Li turned his head to Jheng, who seemed unaffected by the screams. His hand stayed near the orb of roiling lava.

"And _that," _he panted, "is why they call me the Butcher of Ba Sing Se."

Gao Li felt around the obsidian shard, testing it and wincing, his eyes still trained on Jheng.

"You like it? It's quite ingenious, really. You see, lava remains molten only in extreme heat underground. To bend it into another shape fast enough to strike someone is quite impossible." Gao Li silently noted the strain in Jheng's voice.

"But to keep it molten, and fire off a few small chunks outside the sphere of heat? That is actually possible. Difficult, perhaps, but possible." Jheng gulped, and took in another deep breath. "And luckily enough," he added, "the projectiles seem to cool into the wonderfully tough yet sharp glass stuck in your arm right now."

Gao Li looked down at his arm, questioning his own sanity as he decided to go on and fight the Butcher. He reached into the water, gritted his teeth and with one quick motion yanked out the shard of glass. He quickly pulled a length of cloth from the bottom of his pants and wrapped it around the wound, pulling the knot tight with his right arm and teeth. It staunched the flow of blood, but didn't help the throbbing pain.

"I respect your endurance, boy, but really, this is the end. You're going to lose. Yield now, or when this is over you will beg for death."

As if to emphasize his point, Jheng struck again at the orb, firing more shards at Gao Li. He didn't attempt his regular duck and roll, instead simply turning face and running across Jheng's arc of fire. The Butcher responded in kind, firing more and more shards of glass as he stepped about the sphere of magma. A few skimmed past Gao Li, leaving stinging nicks and cuts along his shoulders and back. He ran, feeling the rhythm of Jheng's strikes and steps, until finally Gao Li dropped into a sweeping kick, releasing an arc of flame aimed at Jheng's knees.

The old firebender removed both hands from the sphere and shot a blast of flame at the ground. It lifted him into an aerial flip over Gao Li's assault, but as he landed his left foot slipped and brought him down on all fours. As he heard the stone orb fall and splinter, he pressed his palms into the ground once again, inhaling and exhaling as his body quivered from exhaustion. Sweat poured down his nose and off his lips in rivulets.

The old firebender pulled the newly melted stone into another pillar before him, every muscle twitching and convulsing to maintain the constant heat. His eyes stayed locked on the wavering magma, the sound of Gao Li's footsteps forcing him to end the fight the only way he could. With the last of his energy Jheng pulled the lava into a ring around him and dropped into a sitting position. He closed the top over himself, forming a dome of obsidian and volcanic stone. He drew in the dome's heat to restore a little energy to his exhausted frame.

Gao Li paced about the dome, scanning for any crack, any weakness Jheng may have left. No air holes, no gaps, nothing. Gao Li bore a wicked smile as he began to realize that Jheng had only a few minutes of air in his little dome.

"You can't stay in there forever, Jheng. That lavabending gambit of yours sucked away the last of your energy. It's only a matter of time before your air runs out and you are forced to exit. It's over."

For a while Gao Li could only hear Jheng's meditative breathing, the rasping inhale and trembling exhale. The Butcher finally replied, "In my experience this shield is extremely durable, and even without ventilation in holds enough air to last for ten minutes. I've seen men stronger than you'll ever be succumb to shallower wounds in under that time. You'll be unconscious in five minutes, and dead in ten."

Gao Li stopped in his tracks. "You're bluffing."

"Can you really take that risk at this point?"

Gao Li weighed the potential outcomes in stark silence. He paced around the outside of Jheng's structure, eying the ridges and grooves of coarse stone and gleaming obsidian. He jabbed, prodded, struck in perceived weak-points. Gao Li had very little understanding of how much blood was left in his body, or how long they'd been fighting, or how long he could last. His left arm was nearly useless at this point, clutching to his side to avoid another surge of pain. He needed to end this _now_, whether Jheng was bluffing or not. There was very little time to consider his options, though there weren't many to consider in the first place.

_Jheng's exhausted. This little lava-rock shield is a last resort, and the fact that he'd sacrifice the chance to fight me more one-on-one means he has _nothing_ left. If I can break it, I can force him to yield. I could try melting through… no, that'd require too much endurance. I need something that could punch through it all at once._

_Oh. Duh._

Gao Li dropped his weight in his stance, gripping the crevices of the flagstone floor with his toes. Placing his left palm over his right fist, he leaned onto the hind foot of his stance, his breath becoming long, steady streams in and out. Each inhale grew deeper; each exhale grew hotter. He reached his chi into that now-familiar pattern, stretched it into his fingertips, along the length of his arm, in that same coil.

His form took on something new, however. He stretched out his right arm, unfurling his fist into the shape of a flat spearhead. He tested the pain in his left arm before mirroring the movement, his hand an open palm facing Jheng's dome. The coil of energy stretched through both, pulsing in his limbs, every hair on end. He looked again at the dome, shifting his right hand to his waist. Every movement was methodical, precise. He ignored the pain in his arm, in his side, in every inch of his body. Chi whirled through his arms and chest, but his mind was clear. There was only him, that energy, and his target.

_In and out_.

He lifted his right leg into the air, pausing for only a moment on his left foot before he stomped down and struck.

It was everything Gao Li had left. The very force of the energy leaving his body left him breathless, drenched in cold sweat. He fell to a knee, heaving in enough air before he caught sight of what the spear of flame had wrought.

The impact had cracked the half-sphere, with a single hole in the middle, its edges still red-hot. Pieces began to fall through, and Gao Li was filled with a strange mixture of relief and disappointment when he realized that Jheng had survived the blast. The old man was flat on his back, having tried to throw himself away from the blast. He at last picked himself up, and brushed a few chunks of coarse igneous rock from his body. Dust had mixed with sweat, caking onto his torso.

"Alright. Fine. I'll admit it: your little fire-spear technique is quite effective. I honestly didn't think you had the energy to do any damage, and I didn't think I'd be able to block it if you fired it off." He smiled with bloodied, incomplete teeth. "Today's just full of little surprises."

Gao Li stood up at length, leaning over with his hands propped on his knees. His mind wasn't clear any more, the pain having become quite more than an illusion. But he grit his teeth and bore every ache it took just to shoot Jheng a grin.

"Okay. You disagreed with me before. But _now_ it's over. Completely. Absolutely. Finished. You don't have any more lavabending, any more energy than I do. Now just shut up and yield the match."

Jheng couldn't respond between fits of coughing as his lungs attempted to clean themselves of ash and volcanic dust. As soon as he spit out a glob of what looked like a mixture of phlegm, bile and blood he began to stretch upward, swaying from side to side with nonchalance. He walked toward Gao Li, his eyes locked with his young opponent's until the two combatants were face to face.

"No."

Jheng threw a wild right hook, connecting square to Gao Li's jaw. The younger councilman stumbled backward, before looking up, eyes smoldering with indignant fury.

"Son of a bitch! It's Agni Kai! A _fire_ duel!"

"Honestly? I don't care any more." Jheng stumbled over himself as he came forward with another haymaker. Gao Li successfully ducked under it, but could only shove the old man away.

"Come on, Gao Li! I'm done with the pretense. I'm done with the honor, the logic, the… the terrible soullessness of this whole affair." Jheng I just want to kill you now."

He ran forward, but Gao Li was prepared this time. He pivoted his feet and planted a firm kick directly in the old man's solar plexus, and with the well-timed hack and sputter Gao Li knew he had knocked the wind out of Jheng. The Butcher was still undaunted, coming again with a straight punch at Gao Li's nose, his hand inverted to strike with the middle two knuckles first. Gao Li ducked and blocked upward with both forearms, getting under Jheng's strike. He stepped forward and buried his fists in Jheng's rib and kidney. In hasty reflex Jheng brought his elbow down into the nape of Gao Li's neck. Both councilmen fell, Gao Li on his hands and knees, Jheng onto his back. They picked themselves up once again, every impulse in their bodies begging them to stay on the ground and die.

They assumed cannier fighting stances, circling around one another as they waited for an opening. Jheng took the moment to continue with his favorite activity.

"It's come down to this, Gao Li. Beyond all the technique, beyond the robes and grandeur and honor and farce, it comes to this. Two men, locked in combat, until one or both die. It's quite—"

Gao Li interjected with an anguished groan. "Listen, you old bastard. I'm really, _really_ tired of you talking. So unless you have something important to say, stop talking or I'll personally beat every tooth out of your skull."

Jheng snorted and spat out another glob of vile substances. "Alright. Fine. No more monologues. But I'm still going to kill you, you stupid little runt."

He took a long step forward and threw a solid punch at Gao Li's jaw. The younger councilman blocked it outside of his stance, wove in and stuck the heel of his palm directly into the bridge of Jheng's nose. The old man caught his strike at the wrist, twisted Gao Li's arm around and pulled the young councilman into a chokehold. Gao Li clawed at the forearm pressed firmly against his trachea before grabbing a firm hold, planting his feet and pushing the crown of his head into Jheng's unsuspecting chin. The old man rolled with the strike, and as Gao Li dropped down and swung out his leg to trip him, Jheng made a minimal hop before whipping his foot at Gao Li's face.

The kick only grazed Gao Li, but it was executed with such speed that he was stunned for almost a whole second before realizing that Jheng was preparing another more solid kick. Gao Li rolled away, popping to his feet and once again meeting Jheng _en garde_. This time Gao Li began the exchange of blows, batting down Jheng's guard with his gimped left hand while swinging the back of his fist at the old man's temple. Jheng ducked again, firmly planting his feet before popping up and grabbing Gao Li's arms, keeping them apart and the young councilman stationary. He held Gao Li there and grinned.

"And you thought it was over."

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up shut up SHUT UP! You stupid old bastard, how can you be so cocky now?"

"Because I could be the oldest, stupidest bastard alive, but I still have one edge over you."

"Which is?"

With the sides of his fists Jheng struck the hinges of Gao Li's jaw, grabbed his shoulders and rammed a knee into Gao Li's side.

"I don't have a broken rib."

Gao Li keeled over, the pain from a potentially dislocated jaw subsumed into the wracking anguish that overtook him. Jheng laced his fingers in the young man's hair before bringing his face into another brutal knee strike. Gao Li could do nothing but fall to the ground, clutching his side as Jheng laughed.

"See? See? I used your own little trick against you! Waited until you had overestimated yourself, underestimated me, let your guard down so I could crush any pathetic resistance you could lift. And now you have no counter, no ace in the hole, you have _nothing_!" He threw a vicious kick into Gao Li's side. "Look at you. You writhe on the ground in agony. In defeat. You sicken me, you worm, you pathetic little cur!"

Gao Li rolled onto his back, looking through hazy vision at Jheng. He felt consciousness slowly dribble away, as he clutched to it for no good reason any more. He sputtered, spitting away some blood before continuing to watch the Butcher of Ba Sing Se rave.

"Gao Li! Councilman of Pailong! Successor to the wretched coward Rao Tsu! You both share the ultimate defeat! Death! Cowardice! Uselessness! Weakness!"

As he lay there, the tiniest spark of chi reignited in his belly, coupled with something… else. Not the warm glow of chi, not the life-spark he felt whenever he firebended, but something cold.

Jheng's laughter sounded louder than ever, filled with wild abandon and manic pleasure. He quickly turned to the guards and healers who had been waiting for a long while to pick Gao Li off the arena.

"Stop! He's not unconscious, and he hasn't yielded. Yet. Knowing him, he'll beg for mercy. Beg for forgiveness for his transgression." Jheng twitched his head to the audience. Remembering their presence and ears, he turned completely toward them and spread his arms out wide as they looked on, horrified at the blood sport being perpetrated.

"See! I heard you cheer for him then, cheer for him when you believed him a hero! But look! He's a failure, a pathetic excuse for an heir to his pathetic excuse of a father!" He closed his eyes and turned his face toward the sky, sucking in wind and giggling with insane mirth as he exhaled.

Gao Li felt distant. Detached. He could almost imagine that he was dying, but he knew it wasn't what was going to happen. He had something in him, and for no reason he could understand, he slowly lifted himself up, watching Jheng as he ranted, swore, cursed, possessed with his own hysterics. Gao Li's mind wasn't filled with hatred, or fear, or remorse, or pity for Jheng. Gao Li just stood up because his limbs forced him to.

He felt energy run through his body. The last spark. His last word. He didn't search for a reason as he felt the chi coil up in his limbs, as his bloodied feet searched for a stable hold. He didn't consider victory, or defeat, or why he was fighting, or why he was holding on. For once, his mind was absolutely still. He took one long sighing breath before he readied his strike.

_In and out_.

Gao Li struck his right hand forward as the pent-up energy released itself from his fingertips, but he felt no familiar heat as a clear bolt of lightning shot through Jheng's body. The Butcher of Ba Sing Se was silent as his body convulsed, fell still, and dropped to the ground dead.

The haze lifted from Gao Li's mind as he just barely recognized shrieks and cries from the audience, the weight of his limbs, the numbness in his right arm the implications of what he just did. The smell of burning flesh.

He dropped to his knees, trying to keep his whole world from swimming as he heard the clinking of armored boots, as though from far away. He could almost make out a long-haired figure rushing toward him before he felt consciousness slip away.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

He heard voices, as though from a distance. He blinked at a bright light shining in his eyes. He felt something warm wrapped around him and could smell…

_Soup_?

Gao Li shook his head a little and looked around himself. He was surrounded by a canopy of brown cloth, an opening revealing that he was somewhere in the wilderness. A small fire licked at blackened logs and crackling grass.

_The spirit world is a campsite?_

He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes, but became aware that the dull pain in his left arm was now debilitating. He noticed the sling around his neck, and tried instead to use his right arm. From the shoulder to the elbow his arm was perfectly mobile, but his hand was… stuck. There was nothing holding it in that half-fist, but his muscles seemed locked in place. He tried to pry a finger away with little success. He picked up the sound of two voices whispering, and did his best to seem like he was in control of his own fate by sitting more upright, backing up and calling out with a dry voice

"Hello?"

Taia and Seyun entered the tent holding a bowl of soup and a waterskin. Gao Li accepted both with as much vigor as he could muster, trying to ignore their concerned looks.

"Thanks! I was parched."

The two girls nodded silently, Seyun with a half-hearted smile matched with sad eyes, Taia with pursed lips and ponderous movement.

She broke the short silence. "So do you remember what happened?"

"Do I remember what… I… yeah I was fighting Jheng. We went back and forth and I did the dynamic firebending thing—that really caught him off-guard by the way, it helped a lot—"

"At the end. Do you remember what happened right before you passed out?"

Gao Li followed the sequence of events in his mind until the realization struck him.

"I killed Jheng."

"Are you missing a part? Because there's a really important qualifier attached to that."

"I… I don't know. I just…"

"_Lightning_." Taia put a firm hand on her little brother's shoulder. "You killed Jheng with lightning."

"Oh. I did." He nodded before opening his eyes even wider. "Oh! Oh I killed Jheng with… with lightning. I bent lightning." He looked at his right hand, still locked in the same useless claw.

Seyun had to break the silence now. "Gao Li why didn't you just _tell me _about Jheng's plan? That he was going to exile the entire Poor District?"

"I—I didn't—I uh—"

"My brother's a bit of an idiot sometimes. That's why."

Gao Li was now staring at his hand again. His brow furrowed and he looked at Seyun.

"Wait why—what are you and Taia doing here? What am I doing here? How did I get here, why aren't you in Pailong, why am I still—"

"Slohoow down. One at a time." Taia sat on a rock, keeping her eyes on Gao Li. "When you passed out, I ran into the ring to save you from the guards. I kept 'em away for a bit, but then the crowd rushed on too. We got out—"

"Why did they rush on?"

"Some wanted to protect you, some wanted to kill you, most just wanted to get in a big fight. It bought us enough time to get you out."

"But—"

"Brother, think about it. You killed Jheng, a political rival, in an Agni Kai. What did you expect to happen?"

"I still don't—"

"You won the Agni Kai—well kind of—but you also killed Jheng. Apparently the council interpreted and presented it as an assassination attempt. We fled the city anyways, but apparently we're no longer a council family."

"But I still—"

Seyun fielded the next interjection. "I came because you looked like you needed the help. And, well… I'm not quite welcome in Pailong anymore either."

Gao Li grew very silent.

"They—"

"Yeah, they did. Seeing as Jheng was killed, they honored his memory by passing the law anyway… they figured that since you were trying so hard to subvert the thing, it should be put into effect immediately."

Gao Li felt his mind halt, every stumbling thought stop dead, the sentence repeating over and over in his mind. He mouthed "put into effect," his eyes spaced apart as he stared into nothing. The immensity of the thing had struck him, but what perturbed him the most was a fleeting noise he half-heard. Laughing. Jheng was laughing. He knew Jheng was dead and he knew that he didn't hear it only thought it, but the thought grew louder. Louder.

He placed both palms on his temples, as if he could force it out of his mind but the laughter grew louder and clearer and even more psychotic. It shrieked and howled and bayed at him, it stuck in his mind like a thorn dug into his arm that wouldn't budge, wouldn't come out as it shot fire up his arm as Jheng stood there, stood above him and just watched and the smell his burnt flesh made Gao Li gag and wretch. But now Jheng wasn't dead or laughing or standing over Gao Li but knelt next to him, placed a hand over his ear and whispered the thing Gao Li knew, he knew it like his own dead weak useless hand.

"Gao Li!"

He jolted, snapping his head away from the ground at Taia and Seyun. They looked worried but at the same time… fearful. His head snapped again as he realized that he was no longer in the tent but instead outside. He also noted his state of undress and seized at the loose bindings around his groin.

"What just happened?" A short double take to his waist. "And where are my pants?"

"Gao Li, you grabbed your head and rushed outside. Then you knelt down right there and started muttering. The campfire started freaking out so I tried to shake you out of it."

He shook his head, tried to make sense of what he saw. Or did he see it at all?

"Good fucking grief, Gao Li, you do realize that your left arm has a _hole in it_, don't you?" Seyun rushed over and grabbed him by his right shoulder, yanking him back in the tent before he could protest.

"Now sit down so I can properly examine you. I'm doing the best I can, but you need a real healer."

Gao Li sighed and sat on his bedroll as Seyun tested the muscles in both hands, poking and prodding to make sure all of Gao Li's nerves were still attached. She replaced bandages, applied poultices and instructed Gao Li on how to wash and treat his wounds.

She kept asking questions about Gao Li's right hand, and soon everything else was forgotten as she massaged his forearm, feeling every tendon and pressure point. Gao Li felt nothing below the elbow.

"Gao Li why on earth did you decide to keep this from us?"

"Well gee Seyun, I guess I was caught up in the whole 'we're banished' thing."

"Oh _sure_ you were, Mr. Overcompensation." She rolled her eyes and smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just remember who's been applying your bandages."

Gao Li's brow furrowed until it clicked.

"Hey!"

Seyun's straight face quickly melted into mirthful giggling. Gao Li's blush deepened.

"It's not—I just—You pervert!"

"Oh I'm just messing with you, Gao Li! I don't mean to actively emasculate you." She let out another few stifled giggles. "Except when it's hilarious."

"Oh wow, yes Seyun, you're quite the jokester. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha. My sides are in serious, debilitating pain. With all this sarcasm and japery you might—"

"Would you two stop flirting and please tell me what's wrong with your arm?" Taia stood cross-armed at the entrance to the tent.

"Oh yeah Taia, I just saw Gao Li's gaping arm wound first-hand and it stirred my boundless lust. You know, for arm wounds. Especially the sexy ones. I was about to jump him before you barged in and killed the mood. He said he might let me keep the bandages for a _souvenir_-"

"Oh fuck, please stop." Taia shuddered. "You have the grossest sense of humor."

"No, I'm just ruthlessly sarcastic. Right Gao Li?"

Gao Li's mouth hung a little slack, his eyes wide and horror-stricken as he mouthed the words "arm wounds."

"So what's up with Gao Li's arm?"

"Well it looks paralyzed." Seyun held it up and presented it, digging her thumb into a pressure point for emphasis. "No feeling, no movement."

Taia nodded thoughtfully.

"Have you tried bending with it?"

He hadn't. Since a blast of fire seemed a little dangerous to use in a closed, flammable tent, he opted to create a short dagger of flame.

Or try to.

"Hm." He kept trying, kept feeling his chi dam right at the top of the forearm.

"That's more than a little distressing." Taia chewed thoughtfully at her lip. "Maybe if you-"

"Let's not worry about that."

"But your hand is paralyzed. That seems pretty important."

"Really, it's nothing. We'll worry about it when we have the time." Gao Li turned his eyes to Seyun. "So... where do we go next?"

Seyun pulled a scroll out she was keeping in her sash and knelt, rolling out a map of the northern peninsula.

"So Pailong is here, and we've set up camp here." She circled a small area with the tip of her finger. "There are plenty of towns we could find residence in, try and find a healer for your hand. I did the best I could with what I had, but your left arm is still seriously messed up. Not to mention your rib."

"Well Zorei's Triumph is under a day away from Pailong by carriage, maybe—"

"I don't think a Fire Nation town is a great place to go with a political criminal and his conspirators, do you?"

Gao Li hadn't thought of that. "Well where are we going to find a healer? Some bumpkin Earth Kingdom village?"

"Honestly, at this point that's our best bet. The most they'll do is run us out of town, and I'm sure they'll be more sympathetic to us than at Zorei's Triumph."

Gao Li grimaced. "I suppose some mud-caked Earth Kingdom peasant is better than nothing."

"Look on the bright side, little brother. At least you don't have to go to council meetings any more."

At this Gao Li's eyes widened, feeling the realization spread through his body, slackening some strange muscles long held tense. He smiled, and with the weight of a city lifted off his shoulders, he breathed a contented sigh. He couldn't even feel the pain in his ribs as he considered his newfound freedom.

_ Maybe things are looking up after all._

* * *

Jin Yao massaged the palm of his hand in his sleeves, rolling around a tiny knot of muscle for whatever distraction it could bring from the situation at hand. He and a few other councilmen sat in the waning light of a few candles, shadows flickering across their faces. Their new ally sat across a table, his arms folded.

"We can pay you, of course, but your reward may be… more meager than normal mercenary work. Given our current economic status."

"I think it's more than apparent that I'm not in this for money alone."

The councilman felt that he was the only one hesitant about the deal. The others seemed to relish in the idea that Jheng's vengeance would be meted out with such thrift. And such irony.

"I must admit, this is a rather unusual arrangement…"

An elder councilman raised a long, delicate finger. "Ah, but it is fitting, Jin Yao. A traitor deserves more than harmless exile; he must face justice. And who better to do so then our strapping young volunteer?" His crooked finger curled, lightly touching a knuckle to his lips.

"But justice is dealt to the living. A corpse will not stand trial."

"I know you held a certain kind of pity for the boy and his father, but really, Jin Yao. He killed Jheng in a non-lethal Agni Kai, not to mention his obvious subversive tendencies. Like father like—" He stopped and shot a quick glance across the table. "—like son, if you'll pardon the expression."

Raon shrugged. "You all know I'm nothing like my father. I act with Pailong's best interests in mind. To bring my brother to justice is an honorable duty I gladly accept."

"Of course, Raon, of course." The councilman glanced from side to side, looking at all of his fellows. He smirked and rose from his seat. "We'll pay your retainer. Bring some token of his death to us, and we'll gladly compensate you."

Raon stood up, bowed to the assembled councilmen, and strode out of the small office. Jin Yao followed the stream of councilmen out the same door, before jogging up to catch the newly minted mercenary.

"Listen, Raon. I'll pay you twice what the city will to bring Gao Li back alive. Better yet, just find a fake 'token' you can give them, that way you'll get—"

Raon's lips pulled back into a snarl, his eyes hard and unfeeling on Jin Yao. "No."

"Triple what they pay, and I'll pull some strings, get you a spot in an officer's academy. With your previous schooling I'm sure you'll make lieutenant—"

"I don't want your money or your favors, coward. In fact, you know what?" Raon stepped face to face with Jin Yao, their eyes separated by a hair's breadth. "I feel that after hearing word of such treachery the council would be eager for your head as well."

Jin Yao felt his reason fall aside as he looked into Raon's dark, hateful eyes. He only felt anger and disappointment for his old friend's namesake.

"You were right, Raon. You're _nothing_ like your father."

* * *

"How'd your session with the healer go?"

Gao Li looked up at Taia from his bed. His sister took quite well to her new Earth Kingdom garb, simply replacing her crimson tunic for a tan one. He scratched at his new shirt, feeling a twinge of longing for the woven silk of his council robes.

"Well I couldn't tell her exactly how I got it, so she was a little confused. Said something about acupuncture and massage, but I think we should wait until we get to a big city before we start trying to…"

Gao Li stopped short as he watched his sister cast a furtive glance down the hallway before slinking in and shutting the door.

"Am I boring you?"

"A little, but mostly because I didn't come to ask you about your trip to the healer. Seyun had me out shopping for pretty new clothes," her voice took on a mocking tone as she described her least favorite of all activities. "But really, little brother, I'm here because…" She sat on his bed and leaned in close before whispering, "I want you to teach me to lightningbend."

Gao Li winced, drawing his gimped hand into his body out of some misplaced instinct. "I don't think I can really teach you that, Taia. If you didn't notice, I'm still recovering from the first time I did it, and I can't really do what I did on the spot. It was sort of… spontaneous."

Taia was undaunted. "Then just tell me how it felt, what you did with your chi, anything. I know enough of the basic theory to guess what it might take, but to talk to someone who's actually pulled it off…" Her eyes widened as she looked into Gao Li's, her hands rooted on the bed.

"Taia… it's all really hazy."

"Please, can you try and remember?"

Gao Li sighed and began to concentrate, his eyes looking down into the sheets. He followed every moment of the fight, trying to fill in what was between Jheng's final words and the warmth of the bedroll in the forest.

"I remember, lying on the ground, face halfway in a pool of my own blood…" He was surprised how weak his words sounded, how hollow they seemed. "I was sure I was going to die. I was so sure that this was the end- that I had lost. There was no more drive. There was no motivation. And I remember…" He swallowed and sighed, searching for the right words. "I remember that when all my chi was spent, there was something left over, something old and primal in the pit of my stomach and the back of my brain that was beyond prejudice or justice or hate or emotion. It was… cold. Very cold."

He looked back to Taia, who had turned her eyes down, scratching the back of her head.

"I'm… I'm sorry little brother. I shouldn't have—"

"It's okay. I don't mind" Gao Li tenderly lifted his left arm to wrap it around his sister's neck before drawing her into a close embrace. Taia was just as dumbstruck as before, managing to return the hug after a split-second of shock. There weren't many times before when either felt compelled to give the other a hug, but things were certainly different now. They released one another, and Taia planted a sororal kiss on his forehead.

"Good night, Gao Li. Thanks for… understanding."

"Good night Taia."

The door slid shut, and Gao Li extinguished the candle next to his bed. He closed his eyes, and let sleep take him.

His sleep was restless, and he awoke only once, drenched in cold sweat, a scream trapped in his throat and his eyes wide open.

He couldn't remember the specific nature of the nightmare. He didn't have to.


End file.
